Weight fluctuating !!!!!!!

Hi can anybody tell me if a 4lb fluctuation over the course of 1 day is normal or does it sound like my scales need recalibrating?

I am 6" 3 and weigh 226lbs at last weigh in this evening. I put on quite a bit of weight after giving up smoking as instead of having a cigarette, i was having a sandwich :( . I have now beat the cravings after six months and am trying to get down to 175lbs. I am sticking pretty much to around 1800 calories a day i have an active job, run 1.5 miles every other day ( not big on jogging. ) and do free weight training on the days i don't run. The weight is coming off very slowly but i seem to have weird fluctuations where one day i am 226lbs the next i am 230lbs then the following day i will be 226lbs then 224lbs then back upto 228lbs!! does this sound normal or do i have a ghost in the machine?

any advice with thanks

Gray.

Your weight can fluctuate 3-5lbs daily based on your water and sodium levels as well as when you ate and how much.  It's probably not helpful to weigh yourself everyday.  You'll get a more accurate picture of how you're doing if you just do it once a week.

It's absolutely normal.  And just to give an example, I drink water out of a BIG cup.  The water alone in one glass weighs almost 2 lbs.  I have pretty consistent days (as far as eating) and get on the scale most mornings just to see what's happening.  I only care what it says on Friday morning, but I like to see what happens every day.  If one morning I weigh before a glass of water, but the next day I have that glass of water, I'll weigh 2 lbs more just because of that, let alone what I may have eaten that's different, water retention, etc.

If you're weighing every day you'll see fluctuations, and if you're weighing at different times of the day you'll see even bigger fluctuations.  I usually fluctuate 3-5 lbs throughout the day.